TESOL/Reacting with skepticism or belief

I saw a ghost!

Key sentences

Making a claim	Reacting with skepticism
Did you hear about (surprising thing) ?	No, I didn't.

Reacting with skepticism	Making a claim
There's no way that (possibility).	I'm (feeling) that it's true.

Drills

Say these sentences without looking.

Did you hear about (surprising thing) ?

surprising thing	sentence
the UFO	Did you hear about the UFO ?
cold fusion	Did you hear about cold fusion ?
the Google Car	Did you hear about the Google Car ?
the werewolf	Did you hear about the werewolf ?

There's no way that (possibility).

possibility	sentence
a UFO could come to earth	There's no way that a UFO could come to earth.
cold fusion could happen	There's no way that cold fusion could happen.
Google could make a car	There's no way that Google could make a car.
werewolves could exist	There's no way that werewolves could exist.

I'm (feeling) that it's true.

feeling	sentence
sure	I'm sure that it's true.
positive	I'm positive that it's true.
convinced	I'm convinced that it's true.
certain	I'm certain that it's true.

Example

Practice this conversation.

Making a claim	Reacting with skepticism
Did you hear about (the UFO) ?	No, I didn't.

Reacting with skepticism	Making a claim
There's no way that (a UFO could come to earth).	I'm (sure) that it's true.

Change partners. Use your imagination and change the sentences.

Exercise

Use your imagination. Make your own conversation.

Making a claim	Reacting with skepticism
Did you hear about ... ?	No, I didn't.

Reacting with skepticism	Making a claim
There's no way that ....	I'm ... that it's true.

Change partners. Use your imagination and make another conversation.

Practice

Making a claim	Reacting with skepticism
Think of some surprising news. Believe it. Tell your partner.	Don't believe your partner.

Further study

• English lesson topics

Resource type: this resource is a lesson in English as a second language.